Pushing aside the rows of corpses, Shen Yicheng walked into the Palace of Heavenly Purity, stepping on the ground covered in blood.
The people behind him had different expressions. Some were covering their faces and crying, some were pale, and some were even trembling. However, no one was willing to fall behind. No one was willing to leave this line at this time.
Looking around the Palace of Heavenly Purity, there was no one except for the main hall with its tightly shut doors.
That's right. Who else could there be at this time?
It would be strange if there was, right?
Shen Yicheng took a deep breath and strode towards the main hall.
He knew very well that Zhu Yijun was here and couldn't go anywhere.
The final showdown was coming.
The line moved forward slowly. The high-ranking officials and mainstays arrived at the bottom of the stairs of the main hall. In the past, when there was a court conference, the high-ranking officials and mainstays would meet the emperor in the main hall, while the mainstays would wait here for the imperial edict.
Everything in the past was still vivid in their minds. Now that they were standing here again, the situation was very different.
They didn't kill anyone with their own hands, but there was no doubt that none of them could escape responsibility.
From the moment they caught up with the line, they had no chance to explain themselves.
Shen Yicheng stood at the bottom of the stairs and raised his head slightly. He looked at the main hall with its tightly shut doors, and then glanced at Luo Sigong.
Luo Sigong understood and raised his hand. Six burly soldiers stepped forward and stood in front of Shen Yicheng on both sides, ready to pass on the message for Shen Yicheng.
"Your subject, Vice Minister of the Cabinet, Shen Yicheng, requests an audience with His Majesty!"
Shen Yicheng tidied up his official robe and hat, and then loudly requested an audience.
Since it wasn't a rebellion but a coup, then it should have some semblance of a coup. The necessary etiquette couldn't be absent. After all, it was a coup, not a rebellion. Shen Yicheng wouldn't do anything that subverted the rules.
The six soldiers raised their voices and opened their mouths to loudly repeat Shen Yicheng's words.
"Your subject, Vice Minister of the Cabinet, Shen Yicheng, requests an audience with His Majesty!!!"
They repeated it three times.
The voice was very loud, and Shen Yicheng believed that the Emperor would hear it no matter what.
There seemed to be no movement behind the door.
Shen Yicheng was about to shout again, but before he could say anything, the side door of the main hall of the Palace of Heavenly Purity suddenly opened.
A white-haired, trembling figure walked out from inside.
"Grand secretary?"
"This …"
"Why is the Grand Secretary here?"
There was a small commotion among the high-ranking officials and mainstays.
Unlike them, Shen Yicheng seemed to have expected this and wasn't surprised.
He calmly watched as Zhao Zhigao closed the side door, then turned around and slowly walked to the edge of the stairs with the help of his cane, looking down at him from above.
"Grand Secretary."
Shen Yicheng bowed.
"Jianwu, you have finally come this far."
Zhao Zhigao's voice was also very calm, as if he was not affected by the coup at all.
"It's not that I have to leave, but the traitors are forcing me. If I don't leave, I'm afraid that I will bring disaster to future generations. I have no choice, and I hope the Grand Secretary can forgive me."
Shen Yicheng was just as respectful.
Zhao Zhigao sighed.
"So, you killed Song Shixiang?"
Shen Yicheng's pupils shrank.
"I had no choice. I will take good care of Shixiang's family. To the outside world, I will say that he suddenly died of a disease. I will not harm his family, and I will take care of his descendants. What does the Grand Secretary think?"
Zhao Zhigao nodded. "Do you plan to treat me like this?"
"Grand Secretary!"
Shen Yicheng raised his head. "Shen Yicheng will not harm the Grand Secretary! As long as the Grand Secretary is here, Shen Yicheng will still be the vice minister. "
"Don't say that."
Zhao Zhigao said, "Jianwu, I have always thought that although you love power, ostentation, and luxury, you are not to this extent. I thought that you were a ruthless person who would use schemes and trickery to deal with your enemies. I did not expect that I was wrong.
This old man thought that you had set Zhang Jiangling as your goal, your pinnacle, in an attempt to recreate Zhang Jiangling's former glory, but this old man had never imagined that you would become Sima Yi. Jianwu, tell this old man, what exactly are your intentions? Do you really want to be Sima Yi? "
Shen Yicheng shook his head resolutely.
"Grand Secretary, you misunderstand. I do not dare to be Sima Yi, and I will never be Sima Yi. What I want is only to kill the traitors, stabilize the world, abolish the immoral ruler, support a new one, and recreate the golden age!"
Zhao Zhigao took a deep breath.
"Recreate the golden age? Jianwu, don't say such useless things in front of me. Tell me the truth! Tell me the truth! What do you want? "
Shen Yicheng pursed his lips and nodded.
"Grand Secretary, I do not dare to hide anything. What I want is to take back all the power from the Imperial Cabinet so that the immoral ruler will not harm the country!"
Zhao Zhigao was surprised and immediately asked, "Is the current power from the Imperial Cabinet not enough?"
"Not enough!"
Shen Yicheng answered clearly, "The Eastern Faction Guards, the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and the Director of Rites are all scourges! Not to mention wasting national funds, those who deceive the ruler and deceive his subordinates are all castrated! If they are not removed, no one in the world will agree! "
"Can't you leave anything for His Majesty? The Imperial Horse Supervisor leads the Emperor's bodyguards, this is the rule of our ancestors! "
Zhao Zhigao asked again.
"No! The times are changing, and the rules of our ancestors must also change! "
Shen Yicheng said firmly, "Since things have come to this, I cannot take even half a step back. I hope Grand Secretary can understand."
"It is common sense to leave some servants to serve His Majesty, and it is also common sense to leave some guards to protect the palace. Is this not okay?"
Zhao Zhigao asked again.
"Of course it is okay to leave some servants and bodyguards, but everything must be arranged by the Imperial Cabinet. Whether it is the expenses of the royal family or the personnel of the royal family, everything must be arranged by the Imperial Cabinet, and the Imperial Cabinet will allocate special funds to deal with it. Apart from this, there is no other possibility."
Shen Yicheng looked at Zhao Zhigao, "Grand Secretary, since things have come to this, don't be stubborn. You have done enough for the Daming. Together with this lowly official, ask His Majesty to abdicate and welcome the new emperor to the throne. Grand Secretary is still Grand Secretary."
Zhao Zhigao did not look at Shen Yicheng, and walked down the stairs shakily with the help of his cane, and walked to Zhao Shiqing.
"Zhao Butang, do you think it is okay for Minister Shen to do this?"
Zhao Shiqing looked at Zhao Zhigao nervously, and involuntarily took a few steps back, bowed, and said, "Of course … it is okay!"
Zhao Zhigao looked disappointed, and walked to Tsai Kuo-chen, and tried to hold Tsai Kuo-chen's hand.
"Cai Butang, you and I are both old officials, do you think it is okay for Minister Shen to do this?"
Tsai Kuo-chen hurriedly took a step back, avoiding Zhao Zhigao's hand.
"Minister Shen's words are very reasonable, this lowly official agrees!"
The disappointment on Zhao Zhigao's face deepened.
He walked to Yang Yikui again.
"Yang Butang, do you also have the same opinion?"
Yang Yikui was very straightforward.
"Yes, Grand Secretary!"
Zhao Zhigao closed his eyes, and after a while, he opened them again, and looked around, as if he was looking for something in the crowd. Those who were seen by him could not help but take a few steps back, afraid that he would find them.
Then, Zhao Zhigao saw Shi Xing hiding at the back. Shi Xing did not have time to hide, and was seen by Zhao Zhigao. At that moment, Shi Xing saw a hint of despair on Zhao Zhigao's face.
Zhao Zhigao sighed.
"All of you, do you think it is right to do this?"
Zhao Zhigao's voice had a sobbing tone. He looked around at everyone he could see, every civil and military official who received the salary of the Daming.
"Do you think it is okay to do this?"
"Can you just watch the Daming Emperor be deposed without doing anything?"
"All of you receive the salary of the Daming and become Daming officials, but are you going to stand by and watch such treacherous things, and even help the evildoer do evil?"
"Have you all forgotten the teachings of the Sage?"
Zhao Zhigao's voice was not loud, and his tone was not strong. Rather than saying he was rebuking, it was better to say that he was complaining tearfully. When he reached the end, tears still flowed down his old face, and he choked with sobs.
However, facing him were the officials who lowered their heads in silence.
"All the civil and military officials in the court, there is not a single person with integrity … there is not a single person with integrity!!"
Shen Yicheng walked to Zhao Zhigao's side, and reached out to support him.
"Grand Secretary, you have done enough."
Zhao Zhigao shook his head repeatedly.
"I have been an official for dozens of years, and I have not done a single thing for the Daming. I have not done anything that is beneficial to the people. There is no one better than me who does nothing. I have let down the Daming, let down His Majesty, and let down the teachings of the Sage!"
Zhao Zhigao shook off Shen Yicheng's hand, and once again walked up the stairs shakily. He walked to the front door, and slowly knelt down.
"Your Majesty! This old official is useless! I cannot continue to protect Your Majesty!! "
Zhao Zhigao shouted at the door, and then bowed three times. Then, he stood up, and turned to look at Shen Yicheng.
This time, it was a real glare that had never been seen before.
Shen Yicheng had never imagined that Zhao Zhigao could look at him like this.
"Traitor! I wish I could kill you with my own hands!!! "
Shen Yicheng's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately realized something.
"Quick! Go stop the Grand Secretary! Quick … "
Before Shen Yicheng could finish, his eyes widened in shock.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards and soldiers who had just taken a few steps suddenly stopped in their tracks.
Zhao Zhigao flung his cane away, and suddenly rushed to the pillar at the palace gate.
Zhao Zhigao's head, which was full of white hair, slammed into the pillar.
With a muffled sound, Zhao Zhigao's head bounced off the pillar, and his body fell beside it.
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